The working-class London accent and the softer Estuary version most of the south-east now speaks. Non-rhotic, th becomes f and v, t between vowels becomes a glottal stop, h drops at the start of a word, and l at the end of a syllable turns into a vowel. The diphthongs shift the same way as Australian — which is not a coincidence, since Australia was settled from here.
Where: London and the Thames estuary
Anything the spelling engine can transcribe, the accent can move. Slow it down to hear the shape.
Fast, with a strong fall on the last stress and everything before it squeezed. A rising tag — 'innit' — on most statements.
In the order the mouth applies them. Every before-and-after is playable — click the IPA. The pattern is the rule as the engine runs it, for the curious.
([iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ][ː̃]?)ɹ(?![iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ]| [iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ]) → $1When: after a vowel, when no vowel follows
How: Do not curl the tongue. Let the vowel end.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| car | |||
| hard | the h goes too | ||
| water | and the t becomes a glottal stop |
θ → fHow: Top teeth on bottom lip instead of on the tongue.
Th-fronting. The lips do what the tongue used to. It is spreading fast through the whole of England.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| think | |||
| bath | |||
| three |
ð → vWhen: the voiced th, mid-word; at the start of 'the' and 'this' it usually stays
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| brother | |||
| mother |
([iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ][ː̃]?)t(?=[iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ]|l|$| ) → $1ʔWhen: after a vowel — before another vowel, before a syllabic l, or at the end
How: Close the vocal cords for an instant — the catch in 'uh-oh'. The tongue does nothing.
T-glottaling. The stop is made in the throat instead of with the tongue. 'Bottle of water' has no t in it at all.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| water | |||
| butter | |||
| bit | |||
| bottle | and the l becomes a vowel — the whole word has no t and no l left |
(^| )h → $1How: Simply start from the vowel.
H-dropping, the feature English schools spent a century trying to stamp out and failed.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| house | |||
| hard | |||
| home |
l(?=[pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]|$| ) → ʊWhen: when no vowel follows the l
How: Say 'oo' where the l would be. 'Milk' is 'miook'.
L-vocalisation. The tongue tip never reaches the ridge; only the back of the tongue rises, which is a vowel.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| milk | |||
| ball | |||
| well |
aɪ → ɑɪ| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | |||
| time |
eɪ → aɪThe famous 'fice' for 'face' — the same shift as Australia, one step further.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| face | |||
| day | |||
| mate |
əʊ → ʌʊ| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| go | |||
| no |
aʊ → æʊHow: Begin from 'cat'. 'Now' is almost 'neow'.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| house | |||
| now |
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